By Matt Scott
March 18 – Greek football is at risk of being broken up unless widespread hooliganism and corruption is tackled by the state authorities, the Panathanaikos president has warned.
Ioannis Alafouzos (pictured) told the BBC’s World Football podcast (http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/wswf) that he fears Greece could be banned from participating in European competitions over the growing violence on the terraces and the constant shadow match-fixing that clouds the Greek game. That in turn could lead to certain clubs choosing to quit the Super League football establishment.
Fans’ fighting has spilled over into the boardrooms, with Alafouzos’s deputy, Vasilis Constantinou suffering a split lip in an alleged attack by a bodyguard of a rival club’s president at a Greek Super League directors’ meeting last month.
Now Alafouzos fears the consequences for Greek club football could be severe. He said: “If Greece is punished and does not participate in UEFA games and we are cut off from Europe then perhaps this could be a catalyst which will allow some of the Greek teams to form a separate league.”
Alafouzos believes the chaos in the stands is fuelled by the perception among supporters of endemic match-fixing in the Greek game. A police investigation into the so-called Koriopolis scandal, which saw 68 individuals named by the judicial authorities in connection with alleged corruption in 2011, has stalled.
“Unless fans get back the confidence that the games that are played inside the field are honest and the results are not predetermined, I don’t think that this problem can be resolved,” added the Panathinaikos president.
“We have a major issue regarding corruption in Greek football. Everybody knows it in Greece. You cannot have a criminal investigation that started in 2011, and no trials have started in 2015.
“It is ridiculous, and the people some of who will obviously be innocent are slandered by being accused of serious crimes, their reputation is tarnished and the criminals who will be convicted are free to run and continue with their criminal activities. The state must reinforce the law, they cannot be bystanders to major scandals.”
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